


The One Where Phoebe Finds Out

by Maroonedpunk



Category: Friends (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Coming Out, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Self-Discovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 18:08:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16792069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maroonedpunk/pseuds/Maroonedpunk
Summary: It wasn't fair to Chandler that he had to share all his secrets with the rest of the group. Why couldn't he keep his relationship with Joey a secret?





	The One Where Phoebe Finds Out

**Author's Note:**

> I really like writing for this pairing

They had planned on telling the others, really. It just so happened that they never exactly got around to that part.

Why did they have to tell the group every single time they slept with someone? It wasn’t like that was public information, right? Ross didn’t tell every single woman he decided to marry how many people he slept with. He certainly didn’t tell Joey or Chandler when he got back together with Rachel for one night, or occasionally, up to an entire week. Sure, they were all close friends, but everyone had secrets, right?

That was their logic, anyway. That was the reason Chandler and Joey kept their newly discovered relationship on the DL from the rest of their friends. It would have been too much of a hassle to explain to them how they had gotten together and the exact moment they realized that maybe, just _maybe,_ they weren’t as straight as they thought they were. (Well, Joey at least. Deep down, Chandler had always known there was a part of him he was repressing away that had an interest in men. He blamed his father for that.)

It helped that they were roommates. That made it easier when they wanted to stay in for the night and “hang out.” It also made sense why they spent all their free time together or why sometimes they’d fall asleep curled neatly in each other's arms on the sofa or why most nights Chandler would wake up in Joey’s bed instead of his own. They could pass it off as a friendship thing-- and not worry about any of the others thinking they were together. That was the good part about a “dude-on-dude” relationship. No one assumed they were together. Certainly not as much as say, if Chandler were to wake up in Monica or Rachel’s bed.

Perhaps that did make Chandler upset a few times, that being, well, like _this_ was different and against the rules in the eyes of society. He had already spent his life being accused of being too feminine and not masculine enough; Rachel had even told him to watch more ESPN so he could at least pass as an adult man. It never seemed fair to him that women could get away with shopping in the men’s section without being accused of being lesbian while Chandler would immediately get called out for even looking at the price tag of a pink shirt. Joey always told him to get it anyways, that it didn’t matter, but Chandler always had found himself succumbing to the tendrils of society’s web. He didn’t want anyone to look at him and assume he was gay. That would lead to a plethora of problems Chandler was more than okay with locking in a chest and dumping into the Atlantic ocean.

They had gone over three months without spilling any secrets, which was an impressive feat, considering Joey’s tendency to blabber about everything and Chandler’s inability to stay calm under pressure. Unfortunately, it is Phoebe who catches them in the act when she decides to waltz into their apartment unannounced.

“Chandler, Joey? Have any of you seen Monica-- OH MY GOD!” She stops mid-sentence to gasp and starts screaming, her purse sliding off her shoulder and onto the ground. Joey pushes Chandler off of him, throwing a blanket over his lap to hide his growing excitement. Chandler slides to the other side of the sofa, his cheeks red and lips swollen, tears already starting to brim at the corner of his eyelids. This was it. It was over. They had to tell everyone now, or Phoebe would do it for them.

“Okay, please calm down,” Joey speaks up for the both of them, aware of Chandler’s sensitive state. He reaches for his roommate-turned-lover’s hand. “We can explain.”

“Are you guys, like, _sleeping together?”_ Her eyes are wide. Joey bites his lip.

“Well, kind of.” He takes a deep breath. “I’m bisexual, okay? And Chandler, he--”

“I’m gay.” It’s the first time he’s said the words out loud to anyone besides himself or Joey. It’s kind of a relief, surprisingly. “And we’re together.” He squeezes Joey’s hand.

“You, and you?” She blinks rapidly. “How? When?”

They share a look. It had started late one night after one too many beers. Chandler was complaining about the lack of women he had dated-- only four after thirty years, three decades, of being alive, when Joey suggested that maybe he was looking in the wrong place.

“Whaddya mean?” Chandler asked. Joey smiled and raised half empty beer toward the ceiling.

“Ever tried men?”

“Excuse me?”

“I know how it sounds, but it actually is a pleasant experience.”

Chandler scoffed. “What, you slept with every woman in New York and decided you needed to sleep with all the men, too?”

“No.” He knocked his shoulder against Chandler’s. “I guess after a while, I realized I wasn’t getting the pleasure I needed from... well, y’know.”

“I don’t, but please, go on.”

Joey chuckled lightly, his eyes sparkling. “I had a part I auditioned for, where I had to kiss a dude. And I first I was like, ah crud, because, like, that’s gay. But then I realized I liked it. And I kinda wanted to do some more experimenting.”

“So... what? What are you saying?”

“I guess I’m saying I’m bi. Bisexual. Which a lot of people claim is just a phase or whatever, but yeah. It’s what I’m sticking with.”

Chandler’s brows furrowed. “So... you’ve had sex with a guy?”

“Yeah. It’s not that different, really. Jus’, kinda rougher, I guess.”

“The sex? Or the kissing?”

“Both.” Joey looked at him in a way that was far too arousing for Chandler’s liking. It ended up being a good thing for them, though. “Wanna try?”

“What, with you?”

“I don’t see why not. We’re friends. Best friends. We can help each other out, yeah?”

“Sure.”

It ended up being the best kiss of Chandler’s life, and next thing they knew, they were naked under the unwashed covers of Joey’s bed, rocking the headboard against the thin apartment walls Chandler had come to be acquaintanced with. He never wanted it to end.

Fortunately for him, Joey didn’t want it to either, and so, it didn’t.

It should have been weird, considering they were friends, _best friends,_ but it wasn’t. Somehow, it felt right.

Phoebe stares at them, open-mouthed, for a while after they finish explaining. Joey’s face is twisted into a frown.

“Phoebe, c’mon. Say something.”

“Why wouldn’t you guys say anything to us? We’re your friends!”

“We didn’t want it to be a big deal,” Chandler tries to explain, Joey nodding along with him. Phoebe interrupts.

“But it is a big deal!”

“No, it’s not!” Chandler jumps off the couch and begins to rapidly pace the length of the room. “It’s not a big deal because if it had been Joey and Monica, or me and Monica, or Joey and Rachel, it wouldn’t be a big deal. It would be a, ‘oh, our friends are banging!’ kind of thing. You only _think_ this is a big deal because we're both guys! And it’s not a big deal! Because we can do this!”

Phoebe raises her hands defensively. “You guys can do this. I’m not saying you can’t. And if it’s not a big deal, it’s not a big deal! All I’m saying is that this is great!”

Chandler stops to look at her. “What?”

“Yeah!” She nods her head, “you guys spent so much time looking for the one that you didn’t notice that the universe brought you two together. Chandler, you didn’t pick Joey as your roommate at first, remember?”

He did. He wanted the rich roommate with the hot sister who never showed up, which then led to him picking Joey. What would have happened if Joey had never been his roommate? Would he have realized his true sexuality at all? Or would it, like everything else, get repressed deep, deep down inside of him?

“That’s true,” Joey nudges him, “I almost wasn’t your roommate.”

“And that would have been a disaster,” it comes out slightly sarcastic, but Joey doesn’t seem to notice, nor care. Chandler is thankful Joey has gotten used to his sarcastic tendencies by now.

“See? You guys were meant to be together. That’s why it’s a big deal, not because you’re in a male relationship. You know the others won’t care about that.”

“Ross might,” Chandler mutters, “he freaked out when he fell asleep on the same couch as Joey.”

Phoebe rolls her eyes. “That’s because Ross is dumb. His opinion doesn’t matter. What does is that Rachel, Monica, and I will support both of you because you guys are our friends and we love you.”

“It’s just not fair that we have to share everything with everyone, y’know?” Chandler is pouting. “Like, Ross doesn’t tell us every time he hooks up with a girl.”

“That’s because we don’t care to know about Ross’s sex life.”

“And you care about mine?” Chandler rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, because it’s almost nonexistent!”

Joey giggles as Chandler’s pout grows bigger. Phoebe waves her hand.

“I’ll keep it secret for now. All I’m saying is that you should tell the others. And when you’re ready, I’ll be there to help.”

Chandler gets up to hug her. He and Phoebe definitely weren’t the closest of the group, but he was thankful to have her in his life. He knew she was close with Joey, and when they hug next, he feels safe with her knowing.

And sure enough, a few months later, when Joey and Chandler muster up the courage to tell the others about their relationship, Phoebe is there with a cake and personalized wooden boxes with each of their birthstones inside.

“All I’m saying is that we better be invited to the wedding,” Monica says, grinning ear to ear.

And when Chandler looks at Joey next to him, he’s never been more certain in his entire life.

He’s going to marry Joey Tribbiani.


End file.
